Egypt’s Prime Minister Atef Obeid estimates the value of overall savings of Egyptian citizens at local commercial banks at 280 billion Egyptian pounds ($66 billion), compared with EP 252.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2000.

The Prime Minister added that all 62 commercial banks operating in Egypt are subject to strict supervision by the government and the nation’s central bank, according to London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat daily.

Egypt’s Central bank recently revealed that its total asset value also rose from $1 billion at the end of December 2000, to $1.2 billion at the end of June 2001.

Furthermore, the bank posted net profits of $14.8 million for the first half of the current year. This figure reflects a 10 percent increase compared to last year’s net profits of $13.4 million. –(Mnea Report)